At the tender age of 73, it’s hard to believe that legendary guitarist, musician, producer and composer, the godfather of City Pop, Masayoshi Takanaka is only on his first world tour now, this late in his career. A household name in Japan with his career spanning decades since he first began back in 1970, I never expected that this Asian icon would draw such a young Australian audience.
From the very moment that Masayoshi Takanaka appeared, he had the Melbourne crowd in complete awe. Stepping onto the Forum Melbourne stage to his first of two sold-out Melbourne shows wearing a bespoke red suit with black bowtie, sunglasses and a beaming smile, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, what a cool cat!”. This compliment multiplied tenfold when the Melbourne audience heard him play.
Kickstarting with ‘BLUE LAGOON’, Melbourne fans, some of which were dressed in their own red suits, were already loudly singing, actively jumping as high as they could, and were cheering along to the number. It wasn’t this song alone that was special, the whole show was a life altering experience. Takanaka greeted his Melbourne audience with “Good to see you“, and honestly, it really was good.
The energy from the seven-piece band consisting of two keyboardists Rina Kohmoto and Kaoru Inoue (who also plays the keytar), Akira Okazawa on the bass, Masahiro Miyazaki on the drums, Nobu Saito on percussion, back-up singers Kumi Saito and Yuko Ohtaki, and Masayoshi Takanaka himself, did not waver. In fact, the more involved the Melbourne audience were, the more the performance was amplified by the musicians to match. It was endearing to see even the band members breaking into large smiles, genuinely surprised by the reception that they were receiving from the Melbourne crowd as patrons copied their movements, eagerly clapped along, moshed together and gleefully danced in unison.
Age was not a factor. Takanaka was super active, working every side and corner of the Forum Melbourne stage, happily exchanging energy with his Melbourne fans. This created a wholesome environment that overflowed with mutual respect and love.
Each song transition was seamless from ‘BRAZILIAN SKIES’ with Melbourne fans singing along to the melody (yes, even the parts with no actual lyrics) and fist pumping their arms towards the ceiling, everyone stunned by the guitar riffs in ‘JUNGLE JANE’, having our rhythm tested when ‘SHAKE IT’ became faster and faster as Masayoshi Takanaka played, to an incredible cover of Santana’s ‘Europa (Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile)’ which consisted of only quiet air, the cheers from the Melbourne crowd and the music that was conjured from Takanaka’s magic fingers.
For good measure, Takanaka also performed a cover of John Williams’ ‘The Raiders March’ from Indiana Jones and, I kid you not, even had beach balls thrown into his loving audience, just in case everyone wasn’t having the time of their lives already (they definitely were).
I felt constant whiplash by the audacity of Masayoshi Takanaka’s sheer talent, but in a feelgood brain-melting sort of way. Just when you think he’s played the best guitar riff of the night, he would outdo himself. In reaction, I and many others, often found ourselves exchanging looks with wide eyes and our jaws hanging on the floor. I also lost count of how many guitars he used throughout the evening.
I was aware, however, that Takanaka hadn’t brought out his signature surfboard guitar yet. With demands for an encore and chants of “Surfboard, surfboard, surfboard!” from the devoted Melbourne crowd, Takanaka delivered in spades when he emerged with a large and glorious red surfboard guitar to perform ‘JUMPING TAKE OFF’. This big reveal was met with thunderous cheers from Melbourne fans, phones quickly popping up like daisies with everyone keenly documenting this iconic moment in Melbourne music history.
Prior to the conclusion of the Melbourne concert, Masayoshi Takanaka stated, “First time and I was happy to play guitar with you,” with genuine appreciation for his Melbourne audience, adding before the final send off to ‘YOU CAN NEVER COME TO THIS PLACE’, “I hope peace and rainbow.” This was a sweet sentiment which was surprisingly followed with fans crowd surfing, making the best of the last song. One fan even crowd surfed all the way up the Forum Melbourne stairs and practically out of the venue. I’ve never seen that happen before and it was hilarious (I’m still chuckling about it)!
It was an honour seeing Masayoshi Takanaka in his element and even more special to have witnessed the heartwarming reception that Melbourne gave back to him for finally playing here. You would have been hard-pressed to find a patron not smiling when leaving the Melbourne venue. This was a show for the ages and one of the most incredible tours that Australia has ever seen yet. Masayoshi Takanaka’s first Melbourne concert was such an incredible experience, you really just had to be there to understand the phenomenon.
Masayoshi Takanaka’s City Pop Waves: Super Takanaka World Live 2026 Australian & New Zealand Tour was proudly presented by Live Nation Australia & New Zealand. Masayoshi Takanaka performed in Melbourne for two nights on Sunday the 26th of April and Monday the 27th of April, where both shows were sold out at Forum Melbourne.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.livenation.com.au/masayoshi-takanaka-tickets-adp1633408
https://takanaka.com/en
https://www.instagram.com/takanaka_official
Photography by Maira Troncoso.
